


Tokyo Man Missing for Seven Years Found in Compromising Position with Bucket in Sand Dune

by deanlockiradall, DwarvenBeardSpores



Series: Tokyo Man Missing for Seven Years Found in Compromising Position with Bucket in Sand Dune [2]
Category: Suna no Onna (1964), Woman in the Dunes (1964)
Genre: "I've gotta go check my bucket", Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bucket-Man, F/M, Humor, Other, Post-Canon, Radio, Spoof, based on the film and scholarly analyses, bucket, fake newspaper article, lots and lots of sand, sand, tongue in cheek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-12 00:45:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16863070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deanlockiradall/pseuds/deanlockiradall, https://archiveofourown.org/users/DwarvenBeardSpores/pseuds/DwarvenBeardSpores
Summary: A man is found after going missing for seven years, but investigators stumble into unexpected circumstances.(AU in which Junpei Niki is found, and the woman lives and so does her kid. Also characters get names, and there are jokes about obsessions with inanimate objects.)





	Tokyo Man Missing for Seven Years Found in Compromising Position with Bucket in Sand Dune

**Author's Note:**

> So after watching this film and reading a very interesting scholarly article about the various adaptations of the original Japanese novel (including the film and the English translation), DwarvenBeardSpores and I came up with this scenario as a joke, wrote it down, did some Googling for a good image, and came up with this. Because of the format we were playing with, we also named some of the (nameless) canon characters; names are written in Western style (first name followed by surname).
> 
> In case you're wondering, Junpei Niki really was very obsessed with his bucket, though it's uncertain whether he got as far with it as he did with the woman in the canon story.
> 
> Credit for the original works goes to Hiroshi Teshigahara (director), Kobo Abe (novel author, screenwriter), Eiji Okada (Junpei Niki), Kyoko Kishida (Woman/Junior’s mother), Hiroko Ito (Junpei Niki’s (ex-)wife), and others.
> 
> Image credit: https://worldscinema.org/2015/05/hiroshi-teshigahara-suna-no-onna-aka-woman-in-the-dunes-1964/

By DwarvenBeardSpores and deanlockiradall | 21 June 1964

([Image](https://worldscinema.org/2015/05/hiroshi-teshigahara-suna-no-onna-aka-woman-in-the-dunes-1964/))

_Junpei Niki is seen pushing aside Junior’s mother in an attempt to reclaim his bucket._

 

\--YAMAGATA PREFECTURE, JAPAN

Former entomologist and teacher Junpei Niki, who reportedly disappeared seven years ago, has been found living in a small village surrounded by sand dunes. A former colleague--and now-estranged wife--of Junpei's, Abe Ageha, has confirmed that this is definitely the same man.

"I never expected to see him again," Abe said. "Especially not like this."

Junpei was discovered living alone in a hut half-swallowed by sand. The hut stood at the bottom of a steep, sandy cliff, and although there was a rope ladder hanging down the side, he did not seem inclined to leave.

Abe was alerted of his presence by a six-year-old child nicknamed Junior, who appeared to be Junpei's son. Junior, however, denied this, claiming instead that he is the son of his mother’s radio. There was no explanation given for why he believed this, and none of the other villagers seemed inclined to disagree with his declaration.

"In any case, I asked the kid about what his life was like out in the dunes," Abe said. "It looked like a hard life. He said it wasn't so bad living with his mother and her radio, but things were worse for Junpei, who Junior knows as ‘Bucket-Man.’"

Junior elaborated. "He lives in the worst house. My mom used to live there too, but she likes it better in her new sandpit, where she can walk around more and doesn’t have to shovel. Every day Bucket-Man has to dig the house out of more sand, and the only thing he cares about is his bucket. He likes his bucket better than he likes me, but he was there when I was born."

Curious, Abe asked to meet this man, and Junior led him to the top of the cliff. Their timing, however, was less than ideal.

"At first I thought he was ill. He was writhing around in the sand with half his clothes off. You know, it was weird, he didn't even have underwear tan lines, so maybe he does that sort of thing a lot," Abe explained. Upon closer investigation, it became apparent that Junpei was in fact gaining sexual pleasure from his actions. His "partner," was a large wooden bucket, half buried in the sand. The bucket was later revealed to be holding 20 centimeters of water.

"It doesn't make any sense," Abe said. “To be honest, though, he was always kind of a strange character and never really talked about his hobbies.”

Abe sent Junior away and then approached Junpei. Junpei seemed at first not to recognize her, but it soon became apparent that they did know each other.

The resulting conversation was awkward.

"I don't know what to do with this information," Abe said. "What even was that?"

Junpei's current wife (Junior’s mother) declined to give her name, but seemed unfazed by the situation.

"We used to live with each other, and he was always trying to escape," she said. "Then I left to give birth to Junior, and he stayed behind. I only learned later it was because of his bucket. I should have seen it coming."

When asked if that was upsetting to her, she simply shrugged.

"Maybe at first it would have been," she said, "but I'm happy here with my radio. It's better than marriage to any man. Also, Junior is better off living with me."

When asked to comment on his situation or the compromising position he was found in, Junpei turned away and said, "I've got to check my bucket." He did not respond further.

Junpei is currently being questioned by the police about the events of the past seven years.

**Author's Note:**

> Formatting is hard! This work in the series features a text-only version that may be easier to read. Part 1 is an image with the newspaper columns we envisioned in our hearts.
> 
> DwarvenBeardSpores can also be found on tumblr as dwarven-beard-spores, and twitter and dreamwidth as DwarvenBeardSpores. deanlockiradall is an enigma wrapped in a mystery. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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